A contract for the widening of the Kieler Canal in Germany has been awarded to DEME as part of a joint venture. Work started in January 2020 and will run until the end of 2023.

The Federal Waterways and Shipping Agency, represented by the WSA Kiel-Holtenau, commissioned the joint venture to extend four kilometres of the eastern stretch of the Kieler Canal. The contract has a total value of approximately 99 million euros, with the DEME subsidiaries Nordsee Nassbagger- und Tiefbau and Dredging International carrying out the dredging work.

The eastern section of the Kieler Canal will be widened from 44 metres to a future minimum bottom width of seventy metres so that larger vessels can pass safely there. The widening strongly contributes to a more efficient waterway, which is important for international shipping.

Landscaping measures

Extensive landscaping measures will be taken as part of the expansion of the canal’s section. In total, approximately two million cubic metres of soil will be repositioned, approximately 58,000 square metres of banks will have to be constructed and more than one million cubic metres of soil will be dredged and dumped.